Best Buy (Canada): marketplace guide

About this guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Richfield-based marketplace Best Buy. Here you can find information on how to request a Best Buy account, how to configure this marketplace on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.

Table of contents

Commercial information

How to request an account

Associated costs

Marketplace features

Settings and configuration

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

• Setup
• Categorization
• Mappings
• Pricing
• Listed products

FAQs

Commercial information

Founded	1983
Founder	James Wheeler, Richard M. Schulze
Headquarters	Richfield, Minnesota, USA
Area served (orders)	Canada*
Revenue	USD 500 million (2021)
Number of monthly visits	150 million
Website	Best Buy
Setup cost	CAD 29.99
Commission	depends on the product category
Other costs	CAD 29.99/month
Payment	bi-weekly
Product categories	books, music, films, cameras, cooking, electronics, furniture/interior design, games/toys, household appliances, jewelry/watches, musical instruments, shoes, bags, luggage, sports equipment, office supplies/professional equipment, telecommunications equipment, video games, refurbished products
Input language	English, French
Input currency	CAD
Content creation	yes
Minimum number of SKUs	none
Advertisement options	yes
Profile on ChannelEngine	Best Buy

* Best Buy's marketplace is currently only available in Canada.

How to request an account

To start selling on Best Buy, fill out the application form on their website. Note that you must meet the following requirements:

• Have a registration at the local chamber of commerce (Chambre de Commerce du Canada).
• Have a registered return address in Canada.
• Provide customer, inventory, and pricing support.

Associated costs

Best Buy charges a setup fee of CAD 29.99, a monthly fee of CAD 29.99, and a commission fee – which depends on the product category.

Marketplace features

Supported	Not supported
Product offers	Repricing
Product content	Marketplace fulfillment service
Orders	Split orders
Shipments	Split shipments
Cancelations	Returns (marketplace)
Returns (merchant)	Partial refunds*
Refurbished products	Sales channels
HTML (limited)
EAN matching
Multiple stock locations
Product variations**
Bundles

* Partial refunds can be created manually, via the Best Buy back-end.

** Best Buy supports product variations (i.e.: parent-child relationships) for certain product categories. Each of these categories has a specific attribute, such as color,  size, or material, that enables creation of product variations. E.g.: the Lawn mowers category requires a Color attribute to be mapped to create variations. Therefore, to create product variations, make sure to map a corresponding attribute in Content mapping as well as the Variant group code attribute. For the complete list of categories that support variations and the required attributes, contact your onboarding specialist or customer support manager.

Settings and configuration

Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every marketplace includes the steps listed below.

1. Go through the Setup.
2. Create a Product selection.
3. Complete the Categorization.
4. Set up the Mappings: content, offers, and carriers.
5. Configure the Pricing: rules and currency conversion.
6. Finish the Activation.
7. Check the Listed products overview.

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

Setup

On ChannelEngine

Best Buy is a Mirakl-based marketplace, so you can connect it with ChannelEngine using a Mirakl Connect SSO account. For more information on this, check out the Mirakl-based channels: SSO authorization article.

Invoice uploads

To configure your invoice settings, click Advanced settings. You can then click the dropdown menu Enable invoice uploading, which contains the following options:

• ChannelEngine invoices - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it automatically generates an invoice and attaches it to the shipment before exporting it.
• Merchant invoices (optional) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it exports it – even if there is no invoice attached to it.
• Merchant invoices (required) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it only exports it if an invoice is attached to it. If not, you receive a notification.
• None - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it takes no action other than notifying you that no invoice is present.

If you select one of the Merchant invoices options, make sure to upload the invoice to ChannelEngine via the Merchant API or via the web interface. To learn more, check out the article ChannelEngine: merchant invoices.

Categorization

The categorization on Best Buy is straightforward, and all categories are listed in English.

Mappings

Content

Best Buy enforces several content guidelines, therefore it is important to make sure that your products meet these guidelines before you follow the setup process.

All products (required)

• 01 Image source (main image) - the link to the product's main image. The following requirements apply:
  
  • Minimum resolution - 500x500 px.
  • Maximum file size - 10 MB.
  • File format - PNG, JPG, GIF.
  • Background - white.
• Brand name - the product's brand or manufacturer. Make sure to spell it exactly as the brand owner spells it. The maximum number of characters allowed is 20.
• Manufacturer's part number - the manufacturer's unique product reference. This value may contain letters and numerals. E.g.: TSR-1002.
• Model number - the product's unique model number, especially for computer hardware and mobile devices. The maximum number of characters allowed is 20. E.g.: Phaser 6140/N.
• Primary UPC - the product's unique identifier, which consists of 12 or 13 digits. The accepted formats are UPC-A and EAN13.
• Shop SKU - the product's SKU, usually the Merchant product number on ChannelEngine. The maximum number of characters allowed is 30.
• Short description BB (EN) - the product's short description in English. The maximum number of characters allowed is 400. This attribute supports the HTML li tags.
• Title BB (EN) - the product's title in English. The maximum number of characters allowed is 126. The following structure is recommended: [brand] [sub-brand] [series/name] [specifications] [color]. E.g.: Turbo Nitro Modular Smartphone (TN1140) - Apocalypse Yellow.

All products (optional)

• 02-10 Image source - the link to the product's additional image. The following requirements apply:
  
  • Minimum resolution - 500x500 px.
  • Maximum file size - 10 MB.
  • Accepted file formats - PNG, JPG, GIF.
  • Background - white.
• Energy Star indicator - indicate if the product is certified by ENERGY STAR®. The options are Y (yes) and N (no).
• ESRB - your product's rating, according to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) – if applicable. The options are:
  • A - adults only
  • C - early childhood
  • E - everyone
  • M - mature, video games
  • O - 10 years of age or older
  • P - rating pending
  • R - not rated
  • S - restricted, movies
  • T - teen
• French compliant - set this attribute to Y (yes) if you sell in French-speaking provinces. Otherwise, set it to N (no). 

• Long description BB (EN) - the product's description in English. This attribute supports the HTML li tags.
• Long description BB (FR) - the product's description in French. This attribute supports the HTML li tags.
• Open box - indicate if the product is 'open-box' (i.e.: a product that was opened by a buyer, and was possibly in use for some time before being returned). The options are yes and no.
• Refurbished - indicate if the product is refurbished. The options are yes and no.
• Short description BB (FR) - the product's short description in French. The maximum number of characters allowed is 400. HTML tags are not supported.
• Software platform - the software supported by the product. Select the name of the software from the dropdown. E.g.: Blu-ray, Android, Windows, Xbox.
• Title BB (FR) - the product's title in French. The maximum number of characters allowed is 126. Apply the following structure: [brand] [sub-brand] [series/name] [specifications] [color]. E.g.:  Turbo Nitro Smartphone Modulaire (TN1140) - Jaune Apocalypse.
• Variant group code - the code used to group product variations (e.g.: parents and children). If the product has variations, provide a parent product code here.
• Web hierarchy location - the ID that specifies the product's location in Best Buy's website hierarchy, which allows you to use categories unavailable in the Mirakl API – and makes it easier for prospective buyers to find the product on the marketplace. Even though this attribute is indicated as optional on ChannelEngine, it is required by Best Buy. Apply the following structure: BB_12345. To find the appropriate ID for your product:
  1. Go to your Seller hub. 
  2. Navigate to My inventory, Import from file.
  3. Scroll down to Documents and click Download the web hierarchy location file.
  4. Open the file and locate the appropriate ID.

Offer

All products (required)

• Price - the desired sale price for the product in CAD, excluding sales tax. 
• Warranty - Parts & Labour - the product's warranty period, in days. E.g.: 730.

All products (optional)

• Eco contributions - the environmental tax that applies to the product. The format is: [manufacturer identifier] | [amount, including decimals]. Multiple taxes can be split with a comma. E.g.: Fabricante| 2.50, Fabricant| 1.00.
• EHF amount for [province] - the applicable Environmental Handling Fee (EHV). Indicate the respective fee per province, if applicable.
• Sales tax code - the sales tax that applies to the product. The options are PST, GST, or HST.

The following offer attributes are common to some Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• ECO #1-5 amount - the amount due for the eco-contribution related to the product. E.g.: 2.50.
• ECO #1-5 EPR category code - the extended producer responsibility (EPR) code that applies to the product. For a list of category codes, check out the article Providing data to comply with circular economy regulations in Mirakl's help center (note that you need to be logged in to Mirakl to access this page). E.g.: DE-WEEE, FR-DEA, etc. 
• ECO #1-5 producer ID - your producer ID, received upon registering with a packaging register, such as Germany's LUCID. The maximum number of characters is 255.

The following offer attributes are common to all Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• Discount end date - the date until when the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
• Discount price - the product's sale price, if applicable. This attribute must have a lower value than the Price attribute.
• Discount quantity threshold - the minimum quantity required for the discount rate to be available.
• Discount start date - the date from when the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
• Leadtime to shipment - the number of days before you ship the product. By default, this is set to two. You can create your own unique rules, if applicable. For more information on this, check out the article Lead time to ship in Mirakl's help center.
• Minimum quantity alert - map this attribute to receive a notification from Mirakl if your stock drops below the threshold defined.
• Offer state - the product's condition. Find your option from the dropdown menu by selecting the fixed value to apply to all.
• Product tax code - the taxation code applicable to the product.
• Logistic class - your optional shipping class. Make sure to map it using the marketplace’s codes, not the labels visible in the front-end. These codes vary per marketplace. If this marketplace makes use of logistic class codes, they can be found below.

 

Code	Label	Description
LETTER	Letter (envelopes < 0.5 kg)	Envelope products (less than 0.5 kg)
SMALL	Small box (0.5-3 kg or 1.1-6.6 lb)	Small box products (0.5-3 kg or 1.1-6.6 lb)
MED	Medium box (3-15 kg or 6.6-33 lb)	Medium box products (3-15 kg or 6.6-33 lb)
LARGE	Large box (15-30 kg or 33-66 lb)	Large box products (15-30 kg or 33-66 lb)
HEAVY	Heavy (less than 30 kg or 66 lb)	Heavy products (greater than 30 kg or 66 lb)
LTL	Scheduled delivery	Scheduled delivery products

Carrier

Carrier mapping is not required on Best Buy. However, you can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by Best Buy. This allows for working tracking codes in the back-end, as well as for the buyer. If your default carrier is missing, contact Best Buy.

Note that if you select Unknown as the carrier, you still need to provide a working tracking code.

Listed products

If you have problems with products not appearing on Mirakl-based marketplaces – especially if you are trying to create products –, check the Listed products page for more information.

You can either use the Channel status filter (e.g.: products that ChannelEngine has failed to exported, such as those with an empty GTIN or that do not exist on the marketplace yet, are shown as Invalid) or the Validation and feedback tab to see all known errors for specific products.

Alternatively, you can access the marketplace's back-end and download the error report generated by Mirakl. To do so:

1. Log in to the Mirakl back-end and go to Catalog, Product imports.
2. Identify the latest report and click the See details button by it.
3. Download the CSV file Non-integrated products report.

Pricing

Best Buy requires the prices to be submitted in CAD. If you do not have pricing attributes in CAD, you need to set a currency conversion.

FAQs

How often does each task run on Mirakl-based marketplaces?

By default, Mirakl-based marketplaces follow the schedule below:

Task	Frequency
Export product data to marketplace	every 60 minutes
Export product offers to marketplace	every 15 minutes
Import product offers from marketplace	every 15 minutes
Import orders from marketplace	every 15 minutes
Export order shipments to marketplace	every 15 minutes
Export returns to marketplace	every 30 minutes

Can I map attributes on ChannelEngine and in the Mirakl back-end?

No. Mapping attributes in the Mirakl marketplace back-end interferes with ChannelEngine's content export. Therefore, it is recommended to stick to categorizing and mapping content only on ChannelEngine.

Why am I not receiving feedback on my content and/or offer exports?

Chances are you are receiving the feedback. However, different types of error report can take a couple of hours or several days to be generated:

• Offer feedback
  • Error reports are mostly generated automatically, and are imported quickly.
• Content feedback
  • Transformation error report - this is automatically generated, and usually imported within a maximum of one day.
  • Conventional error report - this requires a manual review by the Mirakl-based marketplace, and not all do so. It can take several days for this report to be imported.

Note that the previous feedback report is not removed from ChannelEngine until both the latest transformation and conventional reports have been fully processed by ChannelEngine – or no new reports have been generated because there are no errors to report.